POSSIBILITIES AND PROBLEMS OF TOURIST SECTOR IN EMPLOYMENT STIMULATION ON THE TERRITORY OF VOJVODINA

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1 POSSIBILITIES AND PROBLEMS OF TOURIST SECTOR IN EMPLOYMENT STIMULATION ON THE TERRITORY OF VOJVODINA Professor of vocational studies Ph.D. Tamara GAJIŠ Business School for Higher Vocational Studies, Novi Sad, Serbia Associate professor Ph.D. Anđelija Ivkov DŽIGURSKI Faculty of Sciences, Novi Sad, Serbia Abstract In the 1980, tourism went through a relatively high degree of rise and it became an important factor of national economy, showing its vitality in the age of unstable economic and monetary movements, and in most part, it stood out as a part of economy that affects the economic activation of human resources to a large extent, so, in that way, it alleviated the unemployment problem. However, despite all claims that human capital is the biggest value of service sector, in reality that attitude is not supported enough. In this paper, there was an attempt to point to a number of problems connected to human resources in tourism, with a view of current state of tourism development and its effect on work contingent in Vojvodina, as one of developed trade and economic parts of Serbia. Exactly at the moment when tourism is becoming the leading service activity of the 21 st century, with indications that it is one of the best ways for economic recovery of the country, in the first place an activating demographic factor, contradictory data appear, in the sense of negating positive effects of tourism through the fact that, besides all the tendencies, the number of employees in this activity is not rising, as it was expected. Key words: Employment, Human resources, Tourism, Vojvodina. JEL Classification: E24, L INTRODUCTION Tourism is a phenomenon that is an important characteristic of modern society, and there is a widespread opinion that this activity constantly has favorable conditions to expand, and even grow into a primary phenomenon and activity of the future. However, still, in the society, as well as in the plans for socio-economic development, there are quite reserved attitudes on defining the place and role of tourism in the development of social and economic system. Such an undefined and reserved attitude has negative implications on the acquisition in tourist activity, and, at the same time, it is slowing down its possible and needed widened reproduction (Downes, 2007). The consequences of that are that society is deprived of big chances, as well as of using optimally great potential of natural and other conditions, as well as the capacities used so far in tourism, which is, for sure, the most massive social phenomenon of the 21 st century. The fact that today, in the world, in the activities connected to tourism, there are million of work places, or 8.2% of all work places (WTTC), speaks about the role of tourism in the employment process. However, on the territory of Serbia, whose part is Vojvodina, too, the situation is slightly different. Oscillatory tourist movements in the last years are the consequence of external and internal factors connected to trade, economic and political streams in the country (Ţeroviš, 2009). The fact is that it was not always possible to affect those factors, or react in due time. In spite of all that, tourism showed even then its positive effect on economic movements in the country, although not to the degree that was expected. Tourist economy in Vojvodina offers great possibilities for employment of work capable population, and its function in activating human resources can be seen there. This role of tourism is the result of a combination of basic characteristics of tourist sector, where it is known that it is a special form of consumption, an economic activity, and, of course, a social phenomenon. Considering the fact that tourism is a tertiary sector, it is characterised by high share of live human labour, which is irreplaceable by machine labour. The more massive tourism is and the wider layers of population or more different market segments it encompasses, the bigger is the role and importance of human labour engaged in the process of fulfilling tourist demands and needs. The higher life standard, free time is, the higher tourist demands are, so, automatically, tourist economy is required to employ more human sector in fulfilling those specific tourist needs (Baum, 1996). Political situation, as well as structural changes that Serbian economy was going through in the last years of the 20 th century especially affected the population and employment contingent. However, it needs to be pointed out that there is a noticeable overflow of work force from primary and secondary sector into tertiary, i.e. into work intense service activities that are aimed at fulfilling tourists and inhabitants direct needs, but it is still not at the level of expected results (Bakiš, 1997). The reasons for this 32

2 Total Domestic Foreign Total Domestic foreign Journal of tourism phenomenon of overflow of working population from primary sectors are: evident reserves of labour force, penetration of new technology and modernization of production process, as well as population wishes to fight for a more favourable social status. Tourism is such an economic activity that constantly enables opening of new work places, more precisely it is considered an inexhaustible source of work force. In other words, tourism is means of rational exploitation of available work force, because it has the power of direct engagement and indirect activation of human resources. Tourism as an economy branch has dual function in population employment. On one hand, it decreases the problem of unemployment of young and educated generations, and also stimulates employment of parts of work contingent who are freed from activities in other branches of economy, which, actually, represents economic and social effect of tourist movements. Tourism employees get income based on their work, so, in that way, they become subjects of demand and consumers monetary capable to acquire goods that they use to fulfill their needs, so this points to economic effects of this sector (Price, 1994). Still, regardless of everything that has been said, there are also negative effects of tourist business on total employment, which is, actually, the impossibility of permanent employment of people in tourism due to the seasonal character of this activity. In the area of South Backa District, this fact is not of great importance due to the very nature of off-seasonal tourist business, but the phase of society development and discrepancy between the number of work capable population and objectively available number of work places in economy has been noted, by which the percentage of the unemployed increases. One of the solutions to this problem, or just its relief, lies in the connections with tertiary sector, whose system is tourism as well. 2. BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEGREE OF DEVELOPMENT OF TOURIST TURNOVER AND THE ATTAINED DEGREE OF EMPLOYMENT IN VOJVODINA In this area, tourism was never given the importance of a vital point of economy, nor is tourism today included in the circle of basic parts of economic model of this area, regardless that there are real possibilities and needs for a more intense development of tourist activity. It is known that in economically less developed countries and regions, the main activity, almost as a rule, is agriculture. Later, together with economic growth, the share of agriculture in the forming of national or regional product decreases, and the share of industry grows. After the phase of industry expansion, its significance gradually decreases, while tertiary activities gain significance (Kosar, 1999). By all means, it can be concluded that tourism in Vojvodina is in a start phase of its development, and after all limiting circumstances, that affected tourism in a negative way, it is possible to look at the real state of affairs and possibilities for the development of tourist activity. In favour of the given statement are the data of the attained degree of tourism development in the area of Vojvodina, where it can be seen that the effects are, basically, positive, but the reach is still far away from the possible optimum. Table 1 - Overview of the accomplished tourist turnover in 1971, 2002, 2005 and in thousands - Number of overnight Number of tourists stays Year Source: Statistical Yearbook, Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia The reasons for great lag in the tourist turnover growth, especially foreign, should be viewed in a very unfavourable structure of tourist offer, in the shortcomings of quality and contents of the existing tourist offer, inadequate assortment, quality, scope and structure of consumer goods that does not encourage the increase in foreign tourist consumption. Vojvodina, as a tourist zone, represents one of few areas that will, in near future, have characteristics of a complex tourist zone. This will be a realistic consequence of the fact that in its area a concentration of tourist wealth with balanced qualitative and quantitative structure has been established. Tourist wealth of Vojvodina and social attractive factors represent a determinant with positive influence on the development of Vojvodina, while the core limiting factor for the development of tourist activity and total economy of Vojvodina is the material basis of tourism (relatively bad infrastructure, receptive). As well as low degree of use of the existing capacities, there is also a problem of the decrease in quality. A large number of objects for accommodation and food services were built before 1976, and after that there was only extensive reconstruction. Within the context of economic development of a state or region there are changes in the structure of the economy, so the analysis of the distribution of workforce in economy branches or activities is very interesting. The ratio of the share of tourism and catering employees and the total number of employees in the economy reflects the way notions of tourism and catering are treated. Therefore, the share of the employees in catering is significantly larger and in some years it is almost the sole bearer of employed 33

3 workforce, while in tourist mediation it is between 0.11% at the most, down to 0.06%. Tourist sector is a wide segment of economy, and the problems arise in the very defining and determining which work positions and to what extent are connected to tourism, Journal of tourism Table 2 - Employees in activity branches in 1975, 1987, 1998 and 2006 and that further implies the problem of finding accurate statistical data on how many people are really employed in tourism. It is relative to what extent some work places appeared directly or indirectly as the consequence of tourist activities. Activity Industry and mining Agriculture and fishing Forestry Water management Building Traffic engineering and transport Trade Tourism and hotel management Crafts Housing and utilities sector Financial and other services Education and culture Healthcare and social services Management and state services Total Sources: Statistical Yearbook of FR of Serbia: 1976, 1988, 1999, 2006 Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % During the period observed, in Vojvodina, the number of employees in agriculture decreases from 75,000 to 44,106, i.e. from 15.3% to 10.6%, which points to the extensive economic transformation of this area. However, there are still areas in Vojvodina where settlements where the ones actively employed in agriculture dominate for example, western and south-eastern parts of Srem. The share of employees in industry and mining has been constantly increasing during the whole period of observation, and, according to the data from 1998, it is 40.1% of all economy branches, after which it slightly decreases and in 2006 it is 39.7%. Financial and other services have similar tendencies, where the share of employees in total activities increased from 1.8% to 3.7%; then in education and culture from 6.6% to 9.2%; in the area of healthcare and social services it almost doubled from 5.0% to 9.07%. Increase of employees until 1987 is noted in traffic engineering, trade, building, tourism and hotel management; from the beginning of 1990s the share of these branches in the total economy of Vojvodina further decreases. Negative trend of the number of employees in tourism on the territory of Vojvodina is worrying, because it is necessary for many more people to be included in the development of tourism (Petroviš, 2002). 34

4 Table 3 - The share of tourism and hotel management in the number of employees in the economy of Vojvodina between 1971 and 2001 Year Total employees in economy Hotel management and tourism Hotel management Tourist mediation Total % Total % total % Total % Source: Statistical Yearbooks of Vojvodina , Provincial Statistical Office, Novi Sad Statistical Yearbooks of Serbia , Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade It can be seen that the share of employees in the economy in general, from 1972 decreases gradually until the end of 1980s, and then constantly decreases in the 1990s. The change in the number of employees in economy reflected on the change in the number of employees in tourism and hotel management. The share of employees in that area was 2.46% at the beginning of the period, and reached 3.02% in the mid s. After that, the share constantly decreased and in 2000 it was 1.58%. In the next year, 2001, the share was 1.68% and it points to the slight increase of employees in hotel management and tourism, which gives some hope in the development of tourism in Vojvodina. If we look at hotel management and tourist mediation separately, in hotel management there is a constant decline in the number of employees (from 2.41%, which was the share in 1972, to 1.62% in 2001). This decrease is a direct consequence of closing of a significant number of objects in the government sector, who have much larger capacities, and opening of smaller objects in the private sector. The share of employees in tourist mediation grows from 0.05% at the beginning of the period to 0.11% at the end of 1980s, only to begin its decrease again, and during 1990s has balanced values of 0.06% to 0.07%. If this share continues its growth, tourism and hotel management will represent a significant economic activity where a lot of the unemployed will find a job. The state of the total number of employed people in Vojvodina is unsatisfactory in the later period as well, considering that, at the same time, the level of the unemployment increased as well. According to the statistical sources, in 2002, of the total number of employed inhabitants in Vojvodina (208,506 employed people) in tourist sector there were 5,210 employees. Comparing the state of affairs at that time, a drastic decline of employed inhabitants in tourism can be seen. When we look at the number of the unemployed, it needs to be pointed out that in any of the given years a little over 53% are actually women. 35

5 According to recent data by Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the total number of employed persons in tourist businesses in Vojvodina in 2008 was 3,952 or 0.75% more than in The highest employment rate in Vojvodina (total number of the employed in that year is 694,963) was noted in South Backa District, with the total of 215,873 employed persons, from which 93,569 or 43.34% are women. However, from the total number of unemployed persons in Vojvodina (199,902), the most were registered in South Backa District, more precisely 64,093 unemployed persons, according to the data from a research at the end of March From that, 51.62% are women. In comparison to the same period in 2008, the number of the unemployed decreased by 7.76%. When we compare the unemployment rate in March 2009 and the average of unemployed persons in 2008, decrease in the unemployment rate of 1.61% can be noted. According to the same data, it is known that the average unemployment rate in the European Union is 7.9%, which points to the fact that that value has been surpassed in Vojvodina with the total unemployment rate in 2009 of 14.2%. Tertiarization is a process opened long time ago in Serbia and all its regions, but it is still far from the degree achieved in the world. Obviously due to the fact that the use of available resources and labour productivity in the first two sectors of economy have not achieved the level of developed economy structures yet, just like the standard of living and buying power of the population have still not conditioned such high degree of development of service activities. From that it can be concluded that in employment policy, in the first place, logical structural relationships have to be established, so the main part of the solution should be sought in the first place in the return to agriculture and development of neglected labour intense activities, in industry and production crafts, and after that in tertiary sector, with main orientation towards tourist economy (Berber et al, 2010). These facts do not underestimate tertiary sector, nor they suppress lawful inevitability of its development, but they strive to create conditions for it s more natural and intense growth. 3. NON-STIMULATING FACTORS OF EMPLOYMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES IN TOURIST SECTOR Tourism and hotel management are activities that basically have a very elastic and complex approach towards categories of population that have the opportunity to be employed there. Various structures of population are included there. Development of tourism and hotel management is an important precondition for helping the problem of unemployment in this area, because they, with their development, activate the whole system of other complementary activities, solving this problem at the level of greater spatial unit that it may seem at first. During the 1990s, employees in South Backa Disrict faced many problems in activities connected to tourism. In the first place, there were poor working conditions, low wages, no work place security, poor employer conduct and unfair tourist behaviour. However, it is true that during recent years, due to the given stagnating factors, all jobs were valuable, so problems were put aside. It was enough to be employed and keep the work position. Many theoreticians are questioning the quality of work places in tourist sector. The key to business success is satisfied work force. There is a widespread opinion that employees in tourism are poorly paid, and that it is not a dignified and grateful job in tertiary sector. It is a confirmed fact that managers, too, are facing certain problems connected to employment of qualified work force, then responsible, educated, organized, and, which is very important, motivated and devoted work force. It is considered that tourism is an adventure or experience, but the employees are, to a great extent, a part of a good or quality tourist experience. Only some of the important employee qualities that need to be valued in order to have a positive effect can be numbered: in the first place, employees have to be well paid, which affects their motivation at work, then, equally important is that the employees have to have adequate knowledge or to be educated for the part of work they do. State of affairs is quite different in Vojvodina than in the world, but tourist organizations themselves and their managers can contribute to this to a great extent. If staff does not have adequate education, it needs to be made available to them. In the past years, situation in this area was such that tourism represented a part of the economy where low-qualified and unqualified work positions dominated. Due to that fact, employees were not motivated enough, they had limited opportunities both in education and advancement, so mostly people from outside, seasonal workers, were employed in tourism. Looking at gender employee structure in Vojvodina, 68% of the employed are actually women and the young. Collectives are made of only 10 or so people, but in different sectors of tourism employees are paid differently. For many years, the biggest wages have been given to the employees at airports, and the lowest to those employed in hotels, if we add the fact that tourism is a heterogeneous system that consists of smaller units, i.e. a mixture of small and big companies. According to American research, average wage in hotel management is about 40% less than the average in service sector, and average wage in retail, where also a large number of low-qualified people work, is 20% higher than in hotel management. The conclusion is that the most important factor that affects the decrease in tourism employment is low wage. Other problems follow, that inevitably arose from this situation, and those are: organizations are faced with additional expenses, such is unproductivity, 36

6 departure of trained staff, time lost on new training of new staff, and loss of tourist consumers` loyalty. According to the research in 14 tourist companies in Novi Sad, of 150 questioned subjects, 78% said they were satisfied with their work position, although they did not give many details why they were satisfied, and if they are satisfied with external (wage) or internal aspects on the job (Gajic, 2009). It has to be pointed out that tourist organizations want to achieve the top on tourist market, and the condition for that is provision of quality services to tourists that, again, directly depends on the employed staff. In order to see the real state of affairs on the abovementioned problem, data on work force wages in other parts of the economy can be given. Average income per capita, without taxes and fees in tourist sector in Vojvodina was 15,610 dinars, in March In the same period, the highest average income without taxes and fees was recorded in Beocin municipality (cement factory) with the average of 36,030 dinars, and only after that in Novi Sad with the average income of 34,930 dinars. The highest average income in March 2009 was recorded in the sectors for financial services and extraction of ore and stone with over 56,554 dinars (Gajic, 2009). 4. SUGGESTION OF CORRECTIVE MEASURES FOR STIMULATION OF TERTIARIZATION Based on the abovementioned key problems that are connected to the employees in tourism, it is possible to single out some of the corrective measures for achieving better effect in tourist business. Besides low wages, that depend to a great extent on internal and external factors, the most important part is education of human resources for jobs in tourism, then, inevitably, their motivation, by giving diplomas, awards, stimulating trips that were stopped a long time ago in this area, better team work, better relationship and communication with employees at higher managerial levels, as well as equally important continual research of tourist market and receiving feedback from tourists. Considering the fact that it has been said that women are the biggest part of the employee structure, it is necessary to find solutions and make this part of work more interesting, as well as implement measures or, more precisely, meet their family needs, something like implementing more flexible working hours, providing transport, childcare, and like. The most important in achieving tourist economy competitiveness is the educational and competence system of employees (Lucas, 1998). However, even there are deviations from the rules, because the existing employee education very often is not the certainty of competitive ability and tourist development, because work force can be poorly and inadequately educated for work in tourism. Until now, the employees were made to be trained only for some routine and habitual jobs, without the need for additional training in the area they work in. The situation in Serbia and Vojvodina can be seen from the text that follows. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the biggest part of the unemployed are persons with the first vocational degree (33.81%), and the least part are PhDs or persons with the eight vocational degree, a total of nine in Vojvodina. In a number of higher educational facilities, lately, the course in tourism and hotel management is in high demand, so there is a great tendency for change in the structure of employees in tourist sector in near future, where employers will insist on employing highly qualified work force and, by that, contribute to the increase in the quality of business and services to tourists. Education lasts from three to four years. Without documentation, more precisely by direct deduction, it is possible to determine that the movements of development and efficiency were twoway. Vocational high-school education did not have a great effect, more precisely, it paved the way to achieving higher work efficiency in tourist sector too slowly. In Vojvodina in 2006, a total of 63 high educational institutions were recorded, where, in the same year, 54,763 students were enrolled, from which 8,007 students graduated (from that number 40,923 students at universities and 13,217 in high educational institutions). When it comes to students who enrol and graduate from the tourism department, the situation is not the best. Of the total of four educational institutions where tourism and hotel management are studied, 600 students are enrolled per year, both at higher and high institutions, and about 180 students graduate. We can talk about diversity of school curricula in institutions for education of tourism staff, and we can also claim that it is difficult to build a bridge of understanding and similarity between two educated experts, because the basic threads of different curricula are diametrically opposed to each other. We talk about isolation of curricula. At one place, graduates from the position of microeconomic sciences are educated, at the other macroeconomic sciences, and at third from the position of spatial and social aspect. Practical work during the studies solves the larger part of the problem when it comes to staff quality. However, practical work is to a great extent left out at most institutions that deal with tourism education (Brewton, 1998). However, there are a number of problems. Practical work additionally burdens students and makes the studies harder, and the goal is to stop students outflow and make the classes as attractive and simple as possible. The work places cannot be chosen only based on higher categories, for example hotels. What is that hotel s general business, and then the organization, what kind of staff is employed there, if the staff is really educated and trained for the job or the students will be unsatisfied 37

7 and less enthusiastic to continue their studies after the practical work. The most sense would make to do practical work in every subject, or at least most subjects, which, again, demands the colleges and higher schools to be fully prepared, and daily result of students would have to be constant, intense, maximally individualized. Practical work inevitably entails additional costs, i.e. it is expensive. Educational institution should provide additional monetary means for practical work from its other activities while students are exposed to additional costs as well. The path to practical work is open, but the changes in educational institutions are not only expensive, but also slow. Curricula need to be mixed. The reason for non acceptance of new curricula is in the attitude of professors who, very often, teach only one subject and think that every widening actually contributes to devaluation of their profile. It is necessary to understand that process as new obligations that represent the effort to widen certain categories or scientific conferences in the professors teaching and scientific domain. One thing is certain: efficiency of studying if flexibility of curricula is accepted, and the adjustment to the needs of practice, i.e. to professional interests and goals is important in the grading of the efficiency of studying (Kelley, 2007). There are no quantified data on staff outflow, but there are some clues that show an illicitly large scope of that phenomenon. Talented educated staff in the tourism domain is employed in completely different sectors. Permanent training, following and defining of new profiles of workers in tourism, especially in hotel management, is needed. Maximal rationalization of the educational system, decrease in dispersion of educational institutions and removal of curricula heterogeneousness. Work in hotel management is submitted to different rhythms during the day, week and year, and those rhythms are more pronounced than in other activities. Workers in tourism work opposite hours from the others: their holidays are most often outside the period considered for it. From that, there is fatigue, as well as serious obstacles for family and social life, so the feeling is created that can seem paradoxical to people who are so often in contact with different guests. In a large number of hotels duration of work changes during the year. It is about the hours during the season and in the normal period. In some countries, considering the way of payment, neither the employee at a hotel nor the owner have the need to precisely determine working hours, so they are usually longer than they should be. Tourism and hotel management are service activities that use a large work force, so staff expenses are large and are about 30% of turnover (Welch, 1999). There are losses in time and reserves in the use of work force. The most often reserves of work force are in: the difference between the needed and real number of workers, workers competence, realized productivity, labour expenses. In working hours, reserves appear in: the difference between working hours and hours of work efficiency, waiting to work pre-season and during the season, as well as absence from work. The most important factors of loss generation are: uneven work rhythm, poor work organization, badly distributed working hours, irregular allocation of workers into work positions, unnecessary wait, poorly directed efforts or given instructions, untimely distribution of workers, leaving of work place and absence from work, lack of discipline at work place, private conversations, inclusion of workers in the work process without prior training or knowledge, poor working conditions, bad location of the work place, unreal norm and lack of interest for time savings, irregular records of working hours, unsystematic monitoring, analysis and representation of the use of labour and working hours. Big American companies employed, over many years, labour analysts in order to analyse and define work positions, in order to simplify and increase the use of material and human resources in the service of company goals (Riley, 2000). The task was: use of ergology to increase workers productivity, development of methods and processes for product and service quality improvement, development and recommendation of the policy for introduction and implementation of the program for work position redefining, advice on general management of people systems, work positions that need to be studied, coordination of personal tasks in order to achieve visible improvements, maintenance and development of successful business, programs for employee training, gathering certain information connected to shared business, description and definition of information and effective communication network, estimate of expenses for simplification and redefining of work, improvement and maintenance of productive work environment and improvement of plans for business forecast analysis. In favour of abovementioned facts, data on the survey conducted at Business School for Higher Vocational Studies in Novi Sad, where staff for tourism and hotel management are educated, can be presented. The education lasts three years, and the goal of the survey was to see how satisfied students are with the studies, if they are interested in professional practice, how convinced they are they would have a job after they graduate, and in the first place a job in their vocation. The survey was conducted by the authors of the paper. The unit of observation were students, actually the authors of the paper limited themselves to the 160 students on the third year, because that is the year they first encounter tourism subjects. The survey was conducted in October The method of questionnaire filling was applied, and in the further text the results of the survey will be presented. From the total of the questionnaires distributed, all were returned and all questions were answered. It has to be said that the 38

8 survey had wider importance of study, more precisely it was designed to give relevant data on the whole educational system. For this paper, only the questions that refer to tourism and hotel management will be presented. To the question how much the students of the third year of vocational studies were satisfied with the curriculum, i.e. the tourism subjects, the answers were the following. From the total number of students, 73% were satisfied with the whole third year curriculum, and 27% said they were quite dissatisfied. How much the practice is needed for students, considering the fact that it is either not enforced at all, or partially enforced, a higher number of test subjects (89%) said they were interested in performing and implementing professional practice as obligatory for most subjects. Next is the key question in the survey, which very often students ask the professors, which is if there is a job in the profession waiting for them after they finish their studies. Students were not largely certain of that fact, and as a reason for that they state bad experiences of previous generations, who found employment mostly in areas completely opposite from their education over many years. In the background of undoubtedly positive attitude towards the future of tourism in this area there is a combination of objective and subjective determining factors that, taken as a unique whole, represent a starting basis of the prospective development of this area. The most important are: significant part of the existing, and wide scope of potential tourist demand in the domestic and foreign tourist market, then, in this area, there are real possibilities for such offer that can to a certain degree satisfy a part of the existing, i.e. expected demand thanks to its quantitative and qualitative features (tourist wealth, general tourist values, etc.). When it comes to Vojvodina, socio-political determinant, connected to economic frames and combination of rational and irrational factors, directly affect the development of domestic tourism, i.e. quantitative and qualitative features of modern tourist demand. It has to be pointed out that the basis of future development of tourism in Vojvodina is made of a combination of objective and subjective determining factors, among which are: significant scope of existing and potential tourist demand for services that are connected to this area, then for development of tourism in Vojvodina there are realistic possibilities that can fulfill the expressed demand with its qualities. Economic policy has the task of finding ways, methods, solutions and means for employment of the worrying mass in Vojvodina of over 60,000 people who are now already really, potentially and covertly unemployed, not counting there permanently growing demand for employment that comes out of natural increase of the contingent of work capable population. 5. CONCLUSION Tourist activity, which is mostly based on the participation of live labour, has already confirmed itself with very important direct results and manifold indirect positive influences on total economic development of a country and society. However, unfavourable position of tourism in Vojvodina during 1990s, absolute and relative small role and almost insignificant importance on the national scale, are the result of a combination of limiting factors. Only some of them can be numbered: Vojvodina being surrounded by areas that have higher general tourist value, more complete and quality network of tourist catering and system of indirect factors with almost aggressive appearance in relation to tourist demand; then, fierce competitive fight on the foreign tourist market, for which the economy of Vojvodina is not ready due to its relative competitiveness; non-existence of the program for tourism development as a systematic tourism policy in relation to it; then effects of politics and monetary reforms as an essential decrease in border and other formalities in arrival and stay of foreigners, who do have a stimulating effect in Serbia on the development of foreign tourism, and in Vojvodina they are weak and in the last place. However, it has to be pointed out that there is an evident flow of employees from primary and secondary sectors into tertiary, i.e. service activities that serve to fulfilling direct needs of tourists and inhabitants, but that still is not at the level of expected results. Tourist economy is, according to the perceived perspectives, able to, in the long-term plan of country development, directly employ many new workers and by that provoke increase in employment in agriculture, industry and other activities for 72% more of its direct needs, i.e. to solve 18% of total current unemployment. In the paper, some of the ruling problems that follow the employed in tourist activities were stated, so, based on all abovementioned, some relevant conclusions can be drawn. In order to achieve desired results in the view of a more mass employment of quality staff, it is necessary to strategically approach human resources management in local, regional and national frames of tourist policy. The problems lie in the uneven development of tourism in the space, as the result of the uneven distribution of natural and other fixed funds that attractive and receptive force depends on, and, according to that, economic ability as well; objectively, it does not enable autonomous balance of the needed work force for tourist economy at regional, and even less at local level. Solutions should strive to overcome, alleviate or at least respect numerous, although not insurmountable obstacles and problems, in the first place objective and systematic qualities, and among them especially those that come out of uneven spatial and temporal layout of the basic developmental segments of tourism, from work relationships and systems of award according to work, 39

9 from the system of education and training of staff, as well as the relationship towards private economy sector. The biggest success in the tourist organizations business is educated and trained staff that will give positive experience and offer quality services. Long-term and complex regional development policy measures should be enforced, that would, through diversification and optimizing of economic structures in the existing and prospective tourist areas, as well as realization of new ones, enable the forming of an own stable demographic basis of every area, with increased, qualitatively restructured, as well as more completely and evenly employed work contingent, which would, by that, among other things, meet the specific conditions of mostly seasonal employment in tourist economy. However, tourism has not even nearly used all the possibilities and resources that tourist economy of Vojvodina has. All that has so far been realised as positive effect of tourism was actually achieved with very weak interconnection between tourist sector and all the factors without whose full engagement the effects remain limited. In the previous period, tourism was isolated and given a very limited manoeuvre space to work in. In those conditions, it not only could not achieve the effects it should and could have as one of the ideal final forms of export investment for an important part of the total national production, but it was also losing more and more of its natural characteristics and decreased its developmental and export potential. What happened to our tourism in recent years, when, for the first time, the consequences of an unfavourable trends in relation to our position in the international tourist market over many years were obviously manifested, is mostly the reflection of the prominent isolation of tourism and lack of interest relationships with the rest of the economy, as well as the lack of necessary social engagement. The survey data point to the fact that Vojvodina will, in near future, succeed in placement of its tourist products in the foreign market, thus developing tourism as an important sector of economy that will necessarily bring about the development of all other complementary activities. The final goal of tourist business will be securing a firm position on the market, creating loyal consumers, which provides long-term business, but the most important thing is that this activity, through its business system, will make the whole economy of the country more stable and, by that, affect higher degree of employment of human work force in all segments of economy. In the next period, tourism development should be more efficient due to the past experiences from the present development and scientific and research thought has advanced significantly in this area. It must not be neglected that Serbia is a solid partner on the tourist market. 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